Lessons Learned (or not) from the ‘Summer of Love’, by Eric Nelson

Posted by kjohnson on Oct 9, 2017 in Blog | Comments Off on Lessons Learned (or not) from the ‘Summer of Love’, by Eric Nelson

The path to enlightenment has been sought after long before and continues long after the Age of Aquarius. In this article, Eric Nelson, a colleague and a writer, who writes about the link between consciousness and health from the perspective of a Christian Science practitioner, explores this interesting topic. Using his spiritual insight Eric shares the history of the ‘Summer of Love’- a time of experimentation and the use of hallucinogenic drugs believed to bring about spiritual enlightenment and personal liberation. He acknowledges- through his own experience- that the only way to achieve true spiritual enlightenment is through prayer-a deep bonding with God without the use of drugs of any kind. Join me and read this eye opening article on the true path to enlightenment!

It’s been 50 years since San Francisco played host to the Summer of Love, a months-long gathering of mostly young people drawn to the “turn on, tune in, drop out” philosophy of Timothy Leary and other like-minded counterculturists. The time was ripe, it seemed, for this eclectic group of music loving, war opposing “flower children” to band together in a joint affirmation of peace, love, and spiritual enlightenment.

“Harmony and understanding / Sympathy and trust abounding,” sang the tie-dye clad cast of the psychedelic rock musical “Hair,” whose co-authors had spent the early part of that same year in San Francisco. “No more falsehoods or derisions / Golden living dreams of visions / Mystic crystal revelation / And the mind’s true liberation / Aquarius, Aquarius.”

However, as pleasant and as promising as this all sounds, the lingering notion that casual sex and hallucinogenic drugs – two of the musical’s and that summer’s prominent themes – might somehow play a role in someone achieving true enlightenment deserves further scrutiny.

Kate is interested in sharing blogs about the impact of prayer and spirituality on our health written by her colleagues. As a Christian Science practitioner and teacher, Kate has experienced the power of prayer in her life as well as in the lives of others. She is the media and legislative contact for Christian Science in Maryland. Kate can be contacted through Twitter @CScomMaryland and email at: maryland@compub.org